To my aunt and uncle today! 50 years ago today they were married, then proceeded to have 4 children and eventually ended up as one of the orginal families that made up our church that today has over 3000 "members". 50 years is a long time to be married, and it's an incredible milestone to reach. My parents were 6 weeks shy of their 35th when my dad passed away, so for me this is likely the only family member whose 50th I will be able to celebrate. Unfortunately, no one planned a celebration.... how embarrassing!
This summer is T's and my 12th anniversary. A dozen years together. He'll be in Cameroon for this wonderful occassion. Years ago we'd planned on taking a trip to Hawaii to mark our 10th anniversary. I had it all planned out. My parents had agreed to watch the girls and we started saving American Express points for the hotel and saved up a bit for the airfare. It was just after I'd made these plans and starting executing my perfect celebration that my dad got sick, he passed away and then, low and behold, our whole heating and cooling system died. SO, with the little we'd saved we converted to gas and bought a whole new AC system and furnace for our tenth anniversary!
Needless to say, I'm not making any plans anymore for anniversaries. I would hope to make it to my 50th, but I'm just not sure what I'd like. By that time, I'll be old, hopefully enjoying some grandchildren, maybe still traveling a bit. A gift? Probably just to have my whole family around and enjoy some time with them all, if they'd be willing to give up some of their time to be with me. That's what I'd like, and that's what my dad always wanted once we all grew up and moved out. He savored every chance he had to be with everyone at the same time!
So, here's to hoping that my aunt and uncle have the chance to have their whole family together at some point this year. It would take a great deal of planning and manuevering and some sacrifice on the part of their children to make this happen. And if your parents are celebrating a great milestone like this, just remember that being with their family is probably all they really want anyway!
2 comments:
I haven't been notified of the last three blogs you've written...hmmmmm must be something wrong with bloglines.
Sounds like you had a great trip! I agree about the air-conditioner and seaweed!
Well sometimes life just makes us be practical - you could have had your trip to Hawaii then returned with no way to repair the furnace or a/c.
I don't know of any one in my family who has made it to their 50th. I think my Mom said if Dad had lived it was going to be their 49th but I have to double check with her. Too many of us pass on before reaching such a milestone. There fore we should get together as often as possible - not knowing what the day may bring.
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